AUBURN UNIVERSITY – Elizabeth Lipke, an assistant professor in Auburn University’s Department of Chemical Engineering, has received a $400,000 grant through the National Science Foundation’s prestigious Faculty Early CAREER Development Program for her research designing engineered cardiac tissue and developing cardiac regeneration techniques.

Limited to a few individuals each year, the award recognizes outstanding college and university faculty members in the early stages of their careers and supports their research and outreach activities with funding for five years.

“Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States each year for both men and women,” Lipke said. “Through regenerative engineering we can improve the ability to repair damaged or diseased hearts and provide patients the opportunity for both a longer and potentially better quality of life.”